Geoff Johns' Flash

DC 1st: Superman/Flash

Rick Burchett is a great artist for the DC Animated style, but his work here really shows just how important Scott Kolins has been to the success of Geoff Johns’ run on Flash.  This would have been a lot better with the artist from the main title.

Regret buying: No

Would buy again: No

Would read again: Yes

Rating: Fine

Flash 183-200

What a great run for Kolins and Johns, starting with Crossfire and culminating with the fantastic Blitz arc and the new Zoom, Hunter Zolomon.  It’s telling that I never got sick of the comic during this stretch, and actively looked forward to reading the next issue.  As good as I remembered, I shouldn’t wait eighteen years between readings next time.

I’m usually not a fan of Professor Zoom’s look, the reversed color scheme always looked goofy to me.  (Yes, I don’t like Kid Flash’s costume either.) But Kolins changes my mind with a spooky, lethal interpretation that I love.  

It's the eyes.  So sinister, so much hate.

So brutal, with great timing and storytelling by Johns and Kolins.

Equally brutal (though unintentional) revenge by Wally

Regret buying: No

Would buy again: Yes

Would read again: Yes

Rating: Pretty good, ramps up to Really good for 197-200.

Flash 201-206

A total let down to transition from Kolins to anyone else, and I was especially disappointed to see Alberto Dose on pencils.  I’d never heard of him before, and his style looks a lot like Eduardo Risso’s. (They’re both Argentinian and around the same age, so I wouldn’t be surprised if they crossed paths.  Sadly, Dose passed away in 2016.)

But after a few pages, I really got into what Johns was trying to do.  There’s definitely a 100 Bullets vibe going on here, with erased memories, Wally West wandering around in a dream-like haze, and mystery that requires unraveling.  Given that, Dose is a wonderful choice for the art.

Dose

Risso

This gets dinged down to Nice because I never bought into the mindwipe idea in the first place.  Stupid of Hal to suggest it, stupid of Wally to accept.

Regret buying: No

Would buy again: No

Would read again: Yes

Rating: Nice